were spoken and prayers given to the fire with handfuls of fragrant herbs. I thought

about having my camera with me, but being present in the moment always takes

precedence over recording our ritual. The following day brought back the heavy

rains, feeling more like autumn than summer. My sister and niece came for an

overnight and we tucked into the house for cozy reading and tea. We did have one

outside adventure to the gorge - a very wet walk along the cliffs. An unsteady

moment while taking the photo above captures the day much better than any

of the others I think!

I felt the power of the rushing, swollen river as it poured through the narrow passage and the air smelled fresh and alive with the movement. A run of many days of rain, then a few of sunshine has taken hold, keeping the gardens well watered and not yet drowning. Amidst the mists and dripping sounds, the mountain laurel has burst into bloom throughout the forest.

A surprise to find a turned leaf already. The color captivated me

and the little eye near the top got me wondering....

Being quite sensitive to the mold spores that have blossomed in this wet,

I had a slow day of rest and listening and found myself thinking a lot about

beauty. I'm often shocked when a colleague at the university makes a statement

about a piece of student work " It lacks depth - its just too pretty". I understand

what is meant, but what shocks me is that often this criticism is given to work

that is intuitive and mysterious and to my eyes, beautiful. It seems that in

the university, beauty is not okay anymore, and hasn't been for a long time.

I find myself out on a limb, fighting for the work of a student who has delved into

an authentic dance with beauty, and it seems only a few others recognize the

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Today I took all the names for the spiral drawing giveaway and put them in

my crystal singing bowl. I had the grand idea that maybe I could vibrate the

papers and two would magically turn over to reveal the winners.... well, that

didn't quite work, so I stirred the stew of names in the crystal cauldron with

the mallet, deciding that if a bunch of names turned over, I'd just have to close

my eyes and draw two out. When I looked inside, however, two names were

visible and a third tucked just underneath.

Spiral Drawing #1 - will go toBarbara/Stille Linde, Spiral Drawing #2 will go to Stephanie/Faerie Finder over at owl in the dark, and because obviously somethinghad to be done about the third name, a mystery package will be sent to Christina from A Mermaid in the Attic. Winners please email me with your mailing addresses,you'll find my email on my profile page. I like that the spirals will be going over seas to Britain and Europe, and the mystery package all the way to Australia... and kinda fun that I won a giveaway a few months ago from Christina, nice to be able to reciprocate with a surprise!

Out and about in the garden, the heavy rains of late have made the moss hillvery happy. Having a new window in the living room is wonderful as now I look out to this amazing moss view. I was inspired to put in a woodland garden out back, and now I have my breakfast in the rocking chair and watch the ferns shift in the morning breeze. If I'm lucky, the wood thrushes sing to me while I sip coffee and a chipmunk perches on a stump and watches me.

It has been a magical month of luna moths, I see them almost daily, clinging to

tree trunks or the side of the house. They are favorite food of something in the

night, maybe bats, as I find their delicate wings on the grass after someone's

nighttime feast. Today, as I was heading out to do errands,I spotted one on the

As most of the garden tasks are finished (the big spring projects, that is..) I finally

forced myself back into the studio to paint. It took a bit to find myself again... it

always does after a break but I seem to think I should be able to walk right in, pick

up a brush and have satisfactory images emerge effortlessly. I leave after the first

day back knowing for sure that this time I've totally lost it, never will I paint well

again. I could have easily flowed back into work if I hadn't decided to work on misty

forest paintings instead of the high ridge views I'd done last. But the forest called

to me as I had stored much visual inspiration from my wet spring walks.

"Woodland Mystery", watercolor

"Green Light", watercolor

It seems the mystery behind the red door must be revealed... as several folkswondered what was hidden in there. Yes, it is my studio, warm and cozy in winter, but not so inviting in warm weather when dragonflies dart by the open door and Pasha cat comes in between wanderings to entice me to walk in the forest with him. In winter, he cries at the door and comes in for some heat and a nap. In summer, he just doesn't know why on earth I am sitting inside a dark room with lights on....

Inside, my table is piled with the new work, just untaped from boards. Some are

now listed in my Etsy shop, and some will stay stranded in limbo, not quite making

the cut.

My tools - If you've never bought good watercolor & brushes, you might not know

that the shot below represents probably close to a thousand dollars. Can you believe

that? I see one recently purchased brush that cost over $60, luckily, I got it half off.

One advantage of teaching is getting to know the folks at the student art-kit supply

store who let me know when good things are happening. As my work and technique

develop, I've learned what brushes will give me a desired effect, so finding this

large, flat, great quality brush that holds just the right amount of liquid was a find.

There's nothing more frustrating to me than not having the right tools for the job.

I remember a chalk board in my father's workshop from my childhood that had the

same thing written on it for years - "NEVER USE CHEAP VARNISH" - or was it brushes,

I can't quite remember, but I completely agree either way!

As I look around the studio, I see two paintings from years ago that seem related

to these new pieces - forest layers, dark tree silhouettes and mysterious light.

Resting quietly on a pile of painted stones are two small spiral drawings....

they whispered to me that they want to go live with two of you in appreciation

for all the inspiration, community, wonderful comments and reflections you give.

Way back in March, just before my trip to Florida, I noticed that I had almost one

hundred followers. I decided I would do a giveaway, but somehow March went by

and the milestone one hundredth mark was made and now it is June and there

are a few short of two hundred of you readers...! So, I say, it really IS time for

a giveaway!! (not to mention that I have now been the recipient of two

Out in the garden today, the happily grinning frog perched on his stones

amongst the sweet woodruff and oregano caught my attention.

And the Jack-in-the-pulpit:

The little white geranium showed me she is

not really all white,

and just around the herb bed, a triplet of Irises.

Pasha cat can usually be found on his bench for afternoon naps. I spotted

him while photographing the queen of the garden, the Angelica,

who is just about to bloom!

On closer inspection of napping cat, I noticed that one eye was surely peeking at me.After a series of change-of-position circlings and resettling, the angle of one rear paw didn't quite make sense to me.... (I figured out after looking at this photo again thatwhat I THOUGHT was a rear paw is a front paw - that makes much more sense)

Later in the evening, when Pasha was tucked inside to meet his pre-dusk curfew, I wandered down the road in the last moments of sunlight. The fern glades are particularly enchanting right now, fresh green fronds all heading in the same direction.

A lovely flash of sunset hit me straight on when I emerged from the forest. Theneighbor's little barn driveway sparkled with color.

I was reminded of this strange photo I took of the sky on June 1st. Maybe it

doesn't look strange, but it was a strange sky day. Intense thunderstorms turned

into deadly tornados that hit not twenty miles south of here. We had hail the size

of cumquats and high winds. I thought my windshield would break from the hail...

Its rare for us to have tornados. I've since learned that every twenty years or so

we get them, but this time they hit several cities and towns and did terrible

damage and three dead. Thanks to those of you who emailed to find out if I

About Me

I dwell in a peaceful forest clearing amongst tall, sweeping hemlocks. A gathering of oaks encircles my home, and ravens cling to the shadows in the deep shade of the forest beyond. They gift me with squawking and rhythmic beats of wings and call to life the wild spirit within. The mosses, stones and trees, creature beings and spirits of the deep wood whisper, inspire and enchant. I remember and dream and reclaim myself as a sacred being in the web of all life, doing my best to live my life between the culture to which I belong, and the forest which is my true home.
I make things visual in watercolors, oils, ink, scratchboard, and clay/mixed-media. I sing ancient sounding songs (so I'm told) and tell stories from magical realms and the land of dreams.